CHAPTER
OUTLINE
I.
What is intelligence?
Piaget-- focus on universal stages of cognitive development
Information-processing--
focus on basic cognitive processes in all people
A.
The Psychometric Approach
1. Focus on measurement of intelligence (defined
as set of traits that characterize
individual)
2. Spearman theory-- two-factor theory
intelligence
equals general mental ability (g) plus special (s) specific to a
task
3. Thurstone’s theory-- primary mental abilities
a. spatial ability
b. perceptual speed
c. numerical reasoning
d. verbal meaning
e. word fluency
f. memory
g. inductive reasoning
4. Horn and Cattell’s theory-- fluid versus
crystallized intelligence
a. fluid intelligence-- use of mind to actively
solve problems
i. verbal
analogies, relations among geometric figures
ii.
skills not taught and relatively free
of cultural influence
b. crystallized intelligence-- use of knowledge acquired through
experience general information, word comprehension, numeric abilities
c. fluid involves using mind in new and
flexible ways, crystallized
involves using what one has already
learned
5. Consensus on intelligence
a. top-- general ability factor influences
performance on wide variety of
tasks
b. a few broad dimensions that are
distinguishable on factor analyses (e.g.,
fluid, crystallized intelligence)
c. bottom-- specific skills (e.g., spatial
discrimination) that impacts
performance on specific task
6. Psychometric theories-- emphasis on
intelligence tests that summarize intellect
into a single IQ score
critics-- psychometric tests do not fully describe what
it means to be
intelligent
B. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
1. Rejects single IQ model in favor of eight
distinct kinds of intelligences
2. Many of the types of intelligence are not
found on standard intelligence tests
a. linguistic-- language skills
b. logical-mathematical-- abstract thinking
c. musical-- sensitivity to sound patterns
d. spatial-- object perception
e. bodily-kinesthetic-- body movement skills
f. interpersonal-- social skills
g. intrapersonal-- understanding one’s own
feeling
h. naturalistic-- world of plants and animals
3. Is not the
definitive list of intelligence
4. Savant syndrome-- extraordinary talent in a
mentally retarded person
a. Leslie Lemke, blind, retarded, cerebral
palsy, but can perfectly imitate
music
b. savants cannot be explained by theories
emphasizing a “g” (general
intelligence) factor
5 Each type of intelligence may have a unique
developmental course
a. music and athletic in childhood
b. logical-mathematical in later life
6. Distinct intelligences linked to distinctive
brain structures
C. Sternberg's Triarchic Theory-- Three
Subtheory Aspects of Intellectual Behavior
1. Contextual subtheory-- intelligence defined
by sociocultural context in which it
is displayed
a. real world “street smarts” an example
b. intelligent behavior varies by culture and
history and time of life span
c. definition of intelligence in childhood
different from definition in
adulthood
2. Experiential subtheory-- impact of experience
a. response to novelty requires active conscious
information processing
novel
tasks best measure of intelligence
b. automatization-- increased efficiency with
practice
c. cultural bias in intelligence testing--
familiarity of items varies by
culture
3. Componential subtheory--
information-processing components
a. focus on cognitive components underlying
intelligence
b. focus on how people produce intelligent
answers
4. Theory of successful intelligence
a. intelligence goes beyond traditional idea of
doing well in school and
should be defined as doing well in life
i. intelligent
people optimize strengths and minimize weaknesses
ii.
intelligent people select or modify
environments to fit them
II.
How is intelligence measured?
A. The Stanford-Binet Test
Alfred
Binet and Theodore Simon
a. 1904 test to identify “dull” French children
who might struggle in
school
b. description of child's mental age (MA) tied
to age-graded test items
c. Lewis Terman produces American version
called the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale (1916)
i. age-graded items for ages 3-13
ii.
intelligence quotient scoring system--
IQ = Mental
Age/Chronological
Age x 100
iii.
test norms-- standards of typical
performance
iv.
average score on test is 100
B. The Wechsler Scales
1. David Wechsler’s intelligence tests across
the life span
2. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of
Intelligence (WPPSI)
3. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
(WISC)
4. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
5. Generate verbal IQ, performance IQ, and
full-scale IQ scores
a. verbal involves vocabulary, general
knowledge, math reasoning
b. performance is nonverbal (e.g., solve maze,
assemble puzzles)
c. full-scale is combination of verbal and
performance
C. The Distribution of IQ Scores
1. Normal distribution-- bell-shaped spread
around average score
a. average IQ score is 100
b. about two-thirds of scores are between 85 and
115
c. fewer than 3% of scores are below 70
D.
Intelligence testing Today
1. Concern over lack of theory guiding
traditional intelligence tests
Kaufman
Assessment
i. based
on information-processing theory
ii.
focus on how children solve problems
iii.
subscales on ability to integrate pieces
of information and
acquired
knowledge
2. Dynamic assessment-- assessment of potential
to learn new material versus
traditional tests that assess what has
been learned
a. Feuerstein's Learning Potential Assessment
Device-- assesses the
ability to learn new things quickly with
minimal guidance
use
mediator technique like that suggested by Vygotsky
b. Cognitive Assessment System-- assesses four
basic cognitive processes
i. planning
a solution
ii.
attending to relevant information
iii.
simultaneous processing
iv.
processing in specific order
3. Use of IQ scores criticized
a. single-score does not do justice to
complexity of human intelligence
b. measures performance at one given point in
time
i. not
always good predictor of intellectual competence
ii.
cannot explain how highly intelligent
people fail
III.
The
infant
A. Developmental Quotients—Intelligence Tests Used
on Young Children
Bayley
Scales of Infant Development (1-42 months)
a. motor scale, mental scale, infant behavioral
record
b. developmental quotient (DQ)-- performance
compared to norms based
on performance of a large group of infants
of the same age
B. Infant Intelligence and Later Intelligence
1. Low correlation between DQ scores and later
IQ scores
2. Explanations for this lack of relationship
a. tests tap qualitatively different domains
b. infant intelligence based on universal
maturation
infants
“straying from path” are brought back to normal
3. Are some relationships between measures of
infant attention and later IQ
speed
of habituation, preference for novelty, reaction time
“smart” infant as a speedy processor
IV.
The child
A. How Stable are IQ Scores During Childhood?
1. IQ scores are fairly stable starting at about
age 4
high
short-term predictability
2. Correlations reflect groups of children, not
individuals
within
group stability but individual variation
one
study one-third showed changes of 30 points
3. Changes reflect IQ scores not necessarily
intellectual ability
B. Causes of Gains and Losses
1. Fluctuation greatest if child in unstable
environment
2. Cumulative-deficit hypothesis-- IQ scores of
children from impoverished
environments decrease as negative effects
accumulate
effects
worse if poverty and low intellectually functioning parents
V. The
adolescent
A. Continuity Between Childhood and Adulthood
1. Rapid intellectual growth in early
adolescence, then levels off
a. growth may be due to brain development
b. Piaget’s formal operations stage
2. Increasing stability of individual
differences
B. IQ and School Achievement
1. IQ is good predictor of academic achievement
a. predictions strongest in childhood and
adolescence
b. IQ scores predict high school grades, but not
college grades
c. IQ scores do not reflect habits, motivations,
and interests
VI.
The adult
A.
IQ and Occupational Success
1. Some occupations require more intellectual
ability than others (more
complexity)
average
IQ scores of workers increase with prestige of work
2. Performance on the job also related to IQ
intellectually
capable adults do their jobs better
3. Motivation and environmental factors also
play role
B. IQ and Health
1. People who score higher on intelligence tests
tend to live healthier and longer
lives may be related to socioeconomic
status
2. Monitor health may require same skills as
doing well on intelligence tests
intelligent
people with diabetes learn more about the disorder
C. Change in IQ with Age
1. Depends on type of research design
a. cross-sectional design-- decline in later
life (Kaufman)
b. longitudinal design-- some abilities decline
in later life (Kaufman)
verbal
IQ stable, performance peak 20-24
c. sequential design (Schaie)
i. when a
person is born has great impact on intellect
ii. young cohorts outscore older cohorts on most
tests
iii. older cohorts outscore younger cohorts on
tests of numeric
abilities
iv. fluid (skills to solve novel problems) shows
decline
v.
crystallized (general knowledge) shows
increase
d. IQ effects mediated by level of familiarity
e. performance on speeded tests declines more
f. declines most dramatic until late 60s or 70s
2. Patterns of aging decline differ for
different abilities
3. Declines are not universal
D. Predictors of Decline
1. Poor health
a. chronic illness related to intellectual
decline
b. terminal drop-- rapid loss of IQ within a few
years of death
2. Unstimulating lifestyle
a. disengagement has negative impact on
intellect
b. married couple provide intellectual stimulation
for each other
c. “use it or lose it!”-- more you use
intellect, the less the loss
E. Potential for Wisdom
1. Wisdom-- expert knowledge in fundamental
pragmatic of life
2. Sternberg’s aspects of a wise person
a. rich factual knowledge
b. rich procedural knowledge
c. life-span contextual perspective
d. relativism of values and life priorities
e. recognition and management of uncertainty
3. Related more to expertise than age
4. Research does not yet support common belief
of wisdom in old age
5. Wisdom best thought of as combination of
intelligence, personality, and
cognitive style factors
VII.
Factors that influence IQ scores
A.
Genes
1. Identical twins IQ scores more similar than
fraternal IQ scores
2. Adopted children’s IQ (once they reach
adolescence) more similar to biological
parents than adoptive parent
3. Effects of environment unique to individual
4. IQ can be influenced by nutrition
B. Home Environment
1. Environmental risk factors predict lower IQ
scores
2. HOME inventory developed by Caldwell and
Bradley assess various aspects
of environment
parental
stimulation and responsiveness is critical
3. Gene/environment interaction a key
a. best predictor of early IQ (age 2) is mothers
IQ
b. by age 4 quality of environment as important
as mom’s IQ
c. high IQ moms may provide more stimulating
environment
C. Family Size and Birth Order
1. Birth order thought to highly influence
development
a. research dilution model (only so many
resources to go around)
first-borns
get more attention that later born children
b. research data on birth order effect mixed
2. Family size may be predictor (larger
family-less intelligence)
cannot
tell why (cause-effect?)
D. Social-Class Differences
1. Flynn effect-- 20th century increases in
average IQ
a. clearer from measures of fluid intelligence
i. not necessarily the result of speedier
processing
ii. improvements may be the result of changes in
nutrition,
education,
and living conditions
2. Adoption from lower-class into middle-class
homes associated with higher IQ
3. Social class differences may reflect poorer
home environments (e.g. less
stimulating) provided by parents
E. Racial and Ethnic Differences
1. Authors of The Bell Curve argue for genetic basis for racial differences in
intelligence
2. Some racial and ethnic difference in IQ
scores do exist but could be do to
several factors
3. Culture bias-- possible bias in test
questions
a. lack of English skills may impact IQ test
scores
b. level of cultural exposure may negatively
impact IQ scores
c. culture-fair IQ tests included familiar and
unfamiliar items from all
ethnic or social groups
d. IQ scores predict school success for most
populations (including
minority population)
4. Motivational factors-- minority students not
trying as hard
a. may be due to anxiety/resistance to judgment
by whites
b. negative stereotypes of one’s own group may
decrease scores
may
be especially a problem for African American students
c. stereotype threat-- fear that one will be
judged by the qualities
associates with negative stereotypes
d. positive stereotypes about a group can
increase performance for
members of that group (including racial minorities and women)
e. effects of stereotype threat may be reduced
by providing students with
a mentor
5. Genetic influences
a. heated debate in psychology about role of
genetics in intelligence
b. within group differences cannot be equated to
between-group
differences
c. no direct evidence that race differences in
test scores due to genetics
6. Environmental influences
a. adoption research supports critical impact of
environment
placement
in advantaged homes positive impact on lower-income
African
American children
b. intellectually stimulating environment a key
to explaining “racial
differences” in IQ scores
c. IQ gap between blacks and whites may be
decreasing
VIII.
The extremes of intelligence
A. Mental Retardation
1. IQ score below 70-75 and limitations in
meeting age-appropriate expectations
2. Impact can range from mild to profound
a. mild mentally retarded individual can live
independently or with
occasional help
b. profoundly retarded individuals show major
delays in all areas of
development and require basic care
3. Organic retardation-- due to biological cause
(heredity, disease, injury)
a. Down syndrome-- extra 21st
chromosome
b. phenylkentinuria (PKU)
c. maternal alcohol consumption
4. Cultural-familial-- combination of low
genetic potential and poor
environment
a. more common to organic
b. due to combination of low genetic potential
and understimulating
environment
5. Retarded children tend to follow same
developmental sequence of non-retarded
children
6. Can be later life deterioration of intellect
7. Many retarded children grow into adults who
are somewhat less successful
than nonretarded individuals
a. less skilled jobs
b. poorer adjustments in social relations
c. greater dependence on others
d. many do exceed stereotypes (e.g., are
married, no need for public
assistance)
B. Giftedness
1. Use to be identified solely be IQ score (at
least 130-140)
2. Increased recognition that gifted children
have special abilities rather than high
general intelligence
3. High IQ or special abilities in areas valued
by society
4. Renzulli states giftedness combination of
above-average ability, creativity, and
task commitment
5. Gottfried’s research
a. identified potentially gifted children at age
18 months
b. longitudinal study showed that gifted
children tend to have similar
characteristics that distinguish them from
average children
characteristics
include extensive vocabulary, rapid learning, good
memory,
longer attention span, excellent sense of humor,
early
interest in reading, maturity, perseverance
6. Terman’s research
a. study of 1500 gifted children (Termites)
begun in 1921
b. intellectually gifted children also better
adjusted, better-than-average
health, earlier puberty
c. destroyed stereotype of intellectuals as weak
and frail
7. Gifted students who skip grades and entered
socially mature and well adjusted
8. As adults, Termites were different from
average
a. lower rates of ill health, mental illness,
alcoholism
b. impressive occupational achievements
(professional and high-level
business jobs)
c. contrary to stereotype, gifted do not tend to
burn out early
9. Some with high IQs are unhappy and socially
isolated
10. Most well-adjusted adults had highly-educated
parents who offer love and
intellectual
stimulation
IX.
What is creativity?
A. What is Creativity?
1. Creativity-- ability to produce novel, appropriate,
and valued responses
2. Divergent thinking-- variety of solutions
when there is no one correct answer
3. Convergent thinking-- finding the one “best”
answer
4. A minimum of intelligence is probably
required for creativity in that highly
creative people rarely have below-average IQs
B. Creativity in Childhood and Adolescence
1. Gifted children tend to engage in more
fantasy or pretend play
2. Influenced by different factors than IQ
3. Genetic factors do not appear to impact
creativity
4. Gifted children appear to value nonconformity
and independence
5. Factors that impact creativity quite distinct
from the cognitive abilities
measured on IQ tests
6. Developmental course of creativity less
predictable
a.
preschool children highly original may
restrict creativity in school-age
b. creativity may emerge in adolescence
7. Non-IQ tests may predict creative
accomplishments
8. Creativity may require distinct skills and
experiences
9. Talent and motivation both important
a. key is to be in environment that recognizes,
values, and nurtures
creativity
b. some parents may be too pushy
c. prolonged practice may be critical
d. motivation may play a role
C. Creative Achievement in Adulthood
1. Creative production usually greatest from 20s
to early 40s in most fields
2. Actual peak times of creativity vary by field
a. productivity of scholarship well into old age
b. productivity in the arts often peaks in 30s
and 40s
3. Creative behavior possible, but less frequent
in later life
4. Simonton suggests creativity requires both
ideation and elaboration
a. ideation-- generating creative ideas
b. elaboration-- executing ideas to real
problems
c. older people may use up stock of potential
ideas